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Walking Dead Postmortem: Can Both Rick and The Governor Survive Season 3?
[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead. Read at your own risk!]
Just because Rick has staged two somewhat successful attacks against Woodbury on The Walking Dead, that doesn't mean he is regaining his sanity. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
On Sunday's midseason return, Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) walls came crashing down on him. As fatigue set in, he had visions of what appeared to be a zombified version of his dead wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), which led him to inadvertently banish Tyreese (Chad Coleman) and his group from the prison. The move was perhaps ill-advised: With The Governor (David Morrissey) on the war path, Rick & Co. are going to need the numbers to safeguard the prison. So, who will step up as leader?
Walking Dead's Glen Mazzara previews upcoming war; discusses his exit
TVGuide.com caught up with executive producer and comic book creator Robert Kirkman to get the scoop on the impending war, whether Daryl (Norman Reedus) will regret his decision to leave the group, and a possible major change from the comic books that the writers may be implementing before the season is over.
How much further will Rick descend into madness?
Robert Kirkman: He hasn't quite reached the bottom yet. It's been a lot of fun showing his spiral into madness, with the phone and the vision of Shane and all the other things he's encountered. Now he's starting to see Lori. He's in a really bad place and it's coming at the exact wrong time. People are going to be looking to him as a leader and trying to find answers in this coming conflict, and Rick may not be available to them. They may have to rely on themselves. That's going to make this confrontation that much more explosive and that much more deadly. It's really a question of whether or not Rick is going to be get it together at all, and if he is, is he going to be able to get it together soon enough?
Will anyone in particular step up to lead the group?
Kirkman: We've definitely seen other characters taking on leadership roles at different times. Daryl has really stepped up and contributed quite a bit, but we've seen that he's out on his own with Merle (Michael Rooker), so he's not going to be there. But I think we will see some leadership coming from Glenn (Steven Yeun), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Hershel (Scott Wilson) and definitely Carol (Melissa McBride). They've been shown to be very capable characters this season, and I think we'll be continuing to show they've got some hidden talents.
The Governor wants to take the prison and wants vengeance. Will the ultimate showdown take place in the finale?
Kirkman: There's definitely an escalation at play here, and the season finale is coming up in a few episodes, so that might be a safe bet.
VIDEO: The Walking Dead's David Morrissey on the Governor's quest for revenge
Is The Governor's judgment clouded because he's so desperate for vengeance?
Kirkman: It's possible. This episode, in particular, shows that The Governor is not really dealing with the death of Penny really well. Andrea (Laurie Holden) has had to step up and be more of a voice to the people of Woodbury to try to calm things down. That may spiral into something else, something more dangerous, as these episodes progress.
In that same vein, Glenn is so blinded by his hate for The Governor. Will he do something stupid and dangerous because of it?
Kirkman: I think this show has always been about watching these characters progress and change over time. Glenn's evolution as a character has been jump-started by his encounter with The Governor. We've seen a very different Glenn already in this episode, with his confrontation with Rick in the woods about taking Merle back to the prison. That's going to continue. He's dealing with a lot. His relationship with Maggie is under a lot of stress right now. There's a lot of conflict coming to the forefront. This is a guy who is going to step up. You're going to see a lot of really interesting stuff coming from Glenn. Steven Yeun does some pretty impressive work in these next few episodes.
When Andrea does reunite with the group, can they even trust her?
Kirkman: That's really an unknown. She spent more time out in the woods with Michonne than she did with the group. That group is a distant memory for her. A lot of time has passed since the farm. While she has changed and we don't really know what her opinion is of them, we also need to recognize what her perception is. She's going to come back to the prison and see very different people. She may think of them very differently and not really recognize them as the people she knew, or it could be a fantastic reunion.
Speaking of her time with Michonne (Danai Gurira), are we ever going to see flashbacks to that?
Kirkman: It's possible that we'll see a glimpse here and there. That's a seven month gap. I'm sure there's some interesting stuff that took place. The show is very much about moving forward and we've got a lot of story to tell and a lot of ground to cover, so we're never going to be spending too much time on flashbacks.
Check out The Governor and other awesome characters who wear eye patches
Daryl chose Merle over the group. Will he come to regret that decision?
Kirkman: You'll find out in the next episode. Seeing Daryl and Merle together is a really exciting thing for the audience. Everyone is really pumped to see those two actors, Norman Reedus and Mike Rooker, doing scenes together. They're interacting now and doing things we've never really seen in the show before, so there are some really cool things moving forward.
The rest of Tyreese's group actually wanted to overtake the prison. Will that topic come up again?
Kirkman: Fans of the comic book know that Rick and Tyreese have a special and enduring relationship, a good friendship, and they're both able to lean on each other at times. It's interesting to note that because Tyreese is entering into this story in such a different way and [at] such a later period, they have a very different relationship. We could possibly see these two as enemies in this show. Who knows what the future holds?
Will we see any more casualties in the second half of the season?
Kirkman: It wouldn't surprise me. I'm not going to confirm or deny that, but it's a harsh, dangerous world. I don't think we'll ever go eight episodes without some kind of death. That's just the kind of show that we are. It would be extremely unlikely for us to make it to the end of the season without losing a couple more favorites.
Is that because you're trying to diverge more from the comics?
Kirkman: We always come back to the comics. They'll always be the road map from the show. We'll always be pulling big, major story lines from them, but I like to say the actors whose characters are still alive in the comic book or whose characters are dead in the comic book have no guarantees. We definitely like to keep people guessing.
Will The Walking Dead ever flash back to the zombie outbreak?
Is the only ultimate fate for The Governor to die? It's not like he can beat Rick, the show's hero.
Kirkman: Hey, we want to be known as the most unexpected show on television and the final frame of Season 3 could be Rick and The Governor holding hands and skipping off into the sunset. You never know.
Do you think The Governor and Rick can both survive the season? Hit the comments!
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
View original Walking Dead Postmortem: Can Both Rick and The Governor Survive Season 3? at TVGuide.com
Related Articles on TVGuide.com
- VIDEO: The Walking Dead's David Morrissey on the Governor's quest for revenge
- Will The Walking Dead ever flash back to the zombie outbreak?
- Walking Dead's Glen Mazzara previews upcoming war; discusses his exit
- Check out The Governor and other awesome characters who wear eye patches
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Hello, SEers! Harmony here 🙂
Recently, I had to update my webpage to reflect a book release due out soon. I realised that I had forgotten completely how to make the book previews that I'd done for my other books, lols. So, good old Google came to the rescue. Then I thought that it might be useful for folks if I outlined the process of Embedding Amazon Book Previews into your website here. If you know all this already, then of course feel free to ignore me! The other benefit of sharing this is that, in writing it all out, it might actually embed in this brain of mine! (Miracles have been known to happen.)
Happily, unlike donating digital gifts (including ebooks), this feature works on both Amazon UK as well as Amazon US. Yay! (Sorry, but being in the UK, that's one of my gripes, ha ha.)
Anyhooooo …
The first step
is to locate the sales page for your ebook.
The second step
is to locate the 'Embed' option. See the screenshot below:
The third step
is to click the 'Embed' button. You should see a dialogue box like this:
You will see that you have two options: One, copy and paste a URL into your post/onto your page; and, two, to embed a code into your post/page. This first option is the most straightforward; however, the second one proves much more rewarding.
To embed, then the fourth step
is to select the 'Embed on your site (HTML)' option. (See below.)
The fifth step
is to copy the embed code. (Ensure that you have the 'Embed' option selected as above.)
The sixth step
is to go to your blog/website editor. Now, I use WordPress, and am only conversant with that platform. So, if you use another platform, such as Blogger, etc., you'll have to look up how to find the HTML editing bit. I show you how to do it in WordPress below.
Your screen will look like this:
The seventh step
is to click on the 'Text' tab (next to the 'Visual' tab), so that the HTML for your page/post shows. Paste the copied embed code where you want it. Then, to check how it looks, click on the 'Visual' tab again. (Don't worry, if you've placed it incorrectly, you can move it in both the Visual and the Text areas until you have it displayed where you want it.)
[Quick Tip:
To aid you in finding where to paste the embed code once you're in the 'Text' tab, then while in the 'Visual' tab, type in a word (such as the book title), and then hit return. This will give you an anchor to lock onto amidst all that HTML. For example, if I type in MOMENTS, and then hit return, what I see in the HTML (Text) area is:

 MOMENTS

This shows me that I can place the HTML embed code below my book title to get the placement as in the screen shot below.]
That's it, all done! Using HTML can feel daunting if you're not used to it, but embedding opens up so many avenues for your website/blog. You can embed your YouTube videos with the same method too.
Below are some screen shots of how my webpage looks with the Amazon Previews of my books embedded …
You can also buy, share, and read from this preview …
I hope you found this helpful. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

subset: commoncrawl


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Agriculture and Food Brand Protection and Supply Chain Integrity
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To verify the authenticity of your goods and commodities, we can perform brand protection audits by conducting accurate product analyses, and comparing your reference materials to the alleged fakes, on a number of criteria.
To help protect your brand, we provide a service that adds markers to your goods at the production stage. This effectively 'fingerprints' your goods, allowing us to conduct random checks at critical storage and distribution points further along the supply chain. Our on-the-spot 'yes/no' authentication immediately alerts you to incidents of fraud or other malpractices, and we can secure custody of the chain of evidence to help you in any subsequent legal cases.
In addition to improving quality control, our brand protection and supply chain integrity services can help your organization comply with safety and environmental legislation. Moreover, this potentially helps to protect consumers and other operators.
Contact SGS now to discover how our brand protection and supply chain integrity services can help preserve brand value, protect consumers and maximize revenues.


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The redesigned, slimmer 21-inch iMac has gone on sale on the Web and at Apple stores, and Japanese Apple enthusiast site Kodawarisan has what appears to be the Web's first teardown of the aluminum all-in-one.
One big question we've had since the device was announced is how to crack its shell open and get at its innards. I don't read Japanese, but Google Translate does, and according to the site, the new form factor can be opened with suction cups, just like the old one.
The new model looks different inside from its predecessor—in fact, despite its thinner bezel, it's actually much roomier with the display off than before.
There are antennae mounted around the edges of the bezel (they're the golden-colored, vaguely razor-blade-looking things); they appear to be Wi-Fi. Previous iMacs used the front plastic Apple logo as the antenna window.
The logic board (Apple's name for its motherboard) appears to contain both the Ivy Bridge i5 and the GPU, unlike previous iMacs, which used a separate MXM daughterboard for their GPU. The computer's expansion ports are mounted directly onto the logic board—the SD card slot, headphone jack, four USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and a gigabit Ethernet port. As Apple has said, there is no Firewire port.
We don't see an SSD in the teardown, 2.5-inch or stick, so it seems like the model used here is the base, non-Fusion Drive model with a 2.5-inch TB hard disk drive. It's difficult to tell for certain from the one close-up whether or not the system's single fan has the same asymmetric blade layout Apple introduced with the retina MacBook Pro, but it doesn't appear to.
Interestingly, the pair of SODIMMs that make up the system's RAM are clearly removable. Anandtech has noted that the larger 27-inch iMac has a small port on the back through which the SODIMM cradles can be accessed; the 21-inch iMac seems to have the same type of RAM but lacks the port, making the RAM much more difficult to replace. However, at least the RAM isn't soldered to the motherboard.
The remainder of the components consist of a power supply daughterboard, two speaker enclosures, and a heatpipe/heat sink assembly for the CPU and GPU. There's also the camera bar at the top edge of the computer, just visible in the motherboard picture.
Our own Andrew Cunningham is busily attempting to procure a 21-inch iMac this morning for us to review, so stay tuned for our hands-on impressions.


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How To Buy emergency cell phone charger: Tips and Instructions
When you plan to buy the best emergency cell phone charger, it's always a stressful thing. It might have taken you long to decide on this particular item, and if so, you have analyzed it and compared it to alternatives by other vendors and brands. But does it mean that you'll feel that long-anticipated satisfaction when you hold your purchase finally? Will you still be satisfied with its properties, its looks, and its price?
This is the guide for buying emergency cell phone charger for the best price, quickly, and with minimum doubts. It will help you to choose from the best emergency cell phone charger brands, sellers, and modifications.
Are You Sure about Buying emergency cell phone charger?
Little things and big expensive purchases may matter equally high emotionally. Of course, if it's real and good. If you want it, it's significant. So it's worth some time spent on Google, Facebook groups, and other resources to learn the most about emergency cell phone charger. Maybe users will suggest alternative options worth at least a look. Various emergency cell phone charger ratings also help; they may focus on details you didn't notice. When users or professionals rate each emergency cell phone charger alternative along with it, it may also be useful to know who makes the best emergency cell phone charger.
Are there better alternatives? Maybe some other manufacturer offers the same experience for a better price? These questions don't matter if your heart has already chosen. But if you're making a cerebral choice, considering alternatives is important — at least for not regretting your choice later. When you are certain about it, go and buy your top emergency cell phone charger. But the process of purchase requires attention too.
How to Buy emergency cell phone charger for the Best Price?
No matter how much you want your emergency cell phone charger, it's not a reason to pay more than it actually costs. Here is what you should pay attention to if you don't want to overpay.
- Compare prices. When living in the Internet era, it seems most logical to do a emergency cell phone charger comparison by price on various marketplaces and stores. With some items, you can go hunting through garage sales or eBay lots, and if you're lucky, you can find it in mint condition for a bargain price. But if this item can be bought new, you better get an unused one.
- Check the warranty. If you buy a new or an officially renewed item, it means a certain warranty by the vendor. If anything suddenly goes wrong with your emergency cell phone charger, you will be able to contact the manufacturer and get a replacement item or make sure it will be repaired in the shortest time.
- Learn about the delivery. Are there any complaints by customers in your area? Has the seller delivered items too late? Have there been wrong items in packages? Last but not least: how much does it cost? Maybe there are options with cheaper or even free shipping.
What Else Matters
When you receive and accept your purchase, you can return it immediately if you notice something wrong with your emergency cell phone charger. So check whether the package is undamaged and at least the appearance is right.
You may want to explore other users' opinions. Independent aggregators usually seem more trustworthy than official sites of vendors and sellers. It makes sense to explore the item itself (properties, user experience, and stuff) along with the seller.
How We Rate Each emergency cell phone charger Option
As you see, making all that analysis yourself is a hard job. Luckily, we can help you with our rating system that finds the best offers based on various parameters. Our recommendations are based on:
- Online prices. They are quite easy to fetch and compare. Thus, we get the definitive list of offers to choose the best emergency cell phone charger offer from.
- AI-based review analytics. the AI-powered-system developed to compare emergency cell phone charger reviews analyzes them and chooses the best quality emergency cell phone charger by users' satisfaction.
- Objective factors (like production year, availability, and so on).
That's how we test each emergency cell phone charger. So, first you ask yourself: "What should i look for in a emergency cell phone charger?" Then we help you to find it.


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Rumors spread on Monday that Apple was adding support for 128GB storage in iPhones and iPads, and leaked retail information suggested that a 128GB iPad was just around the corner. The reaction to news of the rumor was both visceral and mixed—some users who regularly bump against the existing 64GB storage limit welcomed the notion that Apple would increase the capacity of its mobile devices, while others largely considered 128GB to be overkill for something that isn't a "real PC."
But just one day later, Apple announced it would indeed start shipping a 128GB iPad starting next week, on February 5. As rumored, the device will cost $799 for a Wi-Fi model or $929 for a Wi-Fi + Cellular model with LTE networking compatibility. The pricing falls right in line with Apple's existing pricing structure; entry-level models have 16GB of storage and start at $499 and $629 respectively, with each doubling of storage capacity adding an extra $100 to the price.
The readers react
Some viewed the news as a positive. "Between some large games, iOS Garageband, and some computer development tutorial videos I loaded into VLC, I ran out of room quickly [on my 64GB iPad]," Ars reader spittingangels wrote.
"People like to carry around their music library and have all the flexibility of the iPad. This is excellent news," reader maars added.
Detractors weren't as kind. "Thousand dollar iPads. loooool," wrote Ars reader Q1DM6.
"Overkill, in my opinion," Eóin Fay, a student at the University of Ottawa, told me via Google+. "There are very few people out there who would truly find a use for this much portable space. Everything is moving toward streaming."
It's true that music and video consumption is moving to streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify, and files can be easily stored in the cloud on Dropbox or the like. So in offering a relatively expensive tablet with such a large amount of storage, has Apple lost its collective marbles? Or is it addressing a legitimate consumer desire for tablets that can, as Apple believes, replace their existing desktop or laptop computer for some significant majority of their needs?
Only the market can truly answer that question, but so far Apple seems to think the demand is there.
Tablets are replacing PCs whether we like it or not
For one, Apple believes iPads are cannibalizing sales of its own Macs, and CEO Tim Cook is just fine with that.
"I think cannibalization is a huge opportunity for us," Cook said during Apple's fiscal first quarter conference call. "Our base philosophy is to never fear cannibalization. If we do, somebody else will just cannibalize it. We never fear it. We know iPhone has cannibalized some iPod business, we know iPad has cannibalized some Macs, and that doesn't worry us."
But iPads are also believed to be cannibalizing sales of Windows PCs as well.
"With more than 120 million iPads sold, it's clear that customers around the world love their iPads, and everyday they are finding more great reasons to work, learn, and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs," Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, said in a statement on Tuesday.
It's hard to say with certainty if Cook and Schiller are right, but raw numbers can give us some indication that the idea isn't crazy. Look at the green line in the graph below; iPads started outselling Macs after just two quarters on the market. In its latest fiscal quarter, Apple sold just over 4 million Macs. In contrast, it sold over five times as many iPads—almost 23 million. Compare that with the world's number one PC maker, HP, which sold just 14.6 million PCs in the same period.
In fact, PC sales have been declining for the last several quarters, with market research firm Gartner recording a 4.9 percent decline in the most recent quarter ending in December. The reason for that continued decline, according to Gartner, is that consumers are increasingly using tablets to do the things they might have done with a PC even a year or two ago.
"Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs," Gartner Principle Analyst Mikako Kitagawa said. "Whereas once we imagined a world in which individual users would have both a PC and a tablet as personal devices, we increasingly suspect that most individuals will shift consumption activity to a personal tablet, and perform creative and administrative tasks on a shared PC."
So if consumers are increasingly using tablets over PCs, it's no surprise that some of them are filling the somewhat limited storage capacity with ever-larger music libraries, TV shows, movies, photos, and apps—games in particular can quickly eat up space on a mobile device with high-resolution "retina"-ready graphics.
"I like having my data local when possible," Ars reader FreeFire wrote. "I have a 32GB iPhone now, and I've had to clear space on it more than once. Videos, pictures, and music make it easy to use space. My daughter's 16GB iPad is constantly at the limit."
It also appears that professionals are likewise supplementing or replacing PCs with iPads. Musicians can record multi-track audio, add effects, and mix it down to a finished stereo track. Photographers can upload images from DSLRs and edit them using the iPad's touchscreen. Videographers can shoot or import video and create rough cuts using a mobile version of Avid. Even engineers can access "often large and highly detailed" AutoCAD files using the AutoCAD WS app for iPad.
Ultrabooks for one and all?
But with prices getting awfully close to Ultrabook territory, there are those who certainly feel that buying something like a MacBook Air makes more sense for the Apple-inclined. A top-end iPad with 128GB of storage and LTE costs $929, whereas an 11-inch MacBook Air with a 128GB SSD, a much faster processor, and a built-in keyboard will cost $1,099.
"For that much, [you] might as well get a real ultra notebook which is far more functional and flexible," said Ars reader foofoo22.
Even with similar storage, though, the two devices aren't necessarily equivalents. It's true that the MacBook Air has both a physical keyboard and built-in trackpad for input, and it can use alternate keyboards, mice, and graphics tablets. Its CPU and graphics are more powerful than those in an iPad. It can be expanded with a wide variety of USB and Thunderbolt peripherals. It can also use all the traditional software we associate with "real PCs," like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and more.
But the iPad has some unique advantages over a MacBook Air or other Ultrabook PC. For one, the iPad comes with a built-in 5MP still camera capable of shooting 1080p video. It (optionally) has built-in 3G and 4G wireless networking, for getting things done when you're out of range of a convenient Wi-Fi network. It has a large touchscreen, which works in ways that traditional computers don't—including while standing. It is lighter in weight and easier to carry. And its battery will consistently last 10 hours or more, while even the most miserly 11-inch MacBook Air user can only dream of expecting half that much runtime away from an AC outlet.
"Since the MacBook Air is not a tablet, and a tablet is not a MacBook Air, I don't necessarily see them as alternatives," Ars reader Janne noted. "And the way you use the two devices is totally different."
So yes, a 128GB iPad might be an expensive luxury for users that are already satisfied with an existing desktop or mobile PC, or it may be "overkill" for those who largely rely on cloud services to access their favorite content. Still, users who prefer to keep content local could certainly use the extra space. And those who rely on an iPad as a professional tool—for whatever reason–can likely justify the added cost of extra storage over lower-end models.
We expect that as prices for NAND storage come down, higher capacity devices will become the norm in the near future. But that's then and this is now. Today, we wonder just how much demand is out there for 128GB iPads, so tell us your thoughts in our latest poll:
Listing image by Apple, Inc.


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6 Responses to "The Young and the Lucky"
February 28, 2007 at 12:19 am
Sometimes it's really hard to tell the difference between unearned success and earned success – and unearned success is still success that could potentially be shared with you. I imagine a preference for "lucky" people could be also interpreted as a preference for successful people.
February 28, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for the link to the article. I'll make a dangerous comment, given that I've not yet read it, but the impression that I get from your precis is that this has nothing to do with attributions of luck. Instead, it is just about preferences for persons who possess resources, and a disinclination towards those who do not have resources. Expectations of sharing or benefits of association might also come into play.
It would be interesting to design a study to compare attitudes about 'desert' and 'good fortune': a child's attitude to one who finds money on the street, another who receives it as a gift, another who receives it as a reward for 'good character', and another who received it in payment for labour.
To disambiguate finding money from merit (because finding might just be about good hunting skills) perhaps a 'falling from the sky' case might offer a better insight into attitudes about luck.
One last point: the results may be coloured by empathy and mirroring effects. A child might simply be more likely to point to an unhappy face when they see unhappy people, in which case their signal has nothing to do with whether or not they like the people.
And that is entirely too much to say without reading the article itself… Treat these as anticipatory speculations.
Thanks again for the link to the research.
February 28, 2007 at 1:37 pm
A follow up – on second thought, the 'falling from the sky' example might not be a good one. It might invoke ideas of divine beneficence.
March 26, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Nice site! kabababrubarta
May 21, 2007 at 9:02 am
[…] other writings on The Situationist that examine empathy, see "March Madness" and "The Young and the Lucky. And, for a sample of postings looking at situational influences on ethics, see […]
August 21, 2007 at 12:03 am
[…] fascinating research has been the subject of previous Situationist posts (including "The Young and the Lucky," and "The Perils of Being Smart (or Not So Much"). This post compliments those posts as well […]


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First, the eggplants were chopped and salted and left in a colander for 10 minutes before being rinsed and dried in a towel. Then, coriander and cumin seeds were toasted and ground to a powder. Coconut milk was warmed with red curry paste and the ground spices. Meanwhile, tofu chunks were fried, and then the dried eggplant chunks were fried. Once the fried items were all draining on paper towels, some chopped shitake mushrooms were stir fried with peanuts, and then the tofu and eggplant were added to the pan. The coconut milk mixture was poured over the vegtablesa and tofu and that was all left to simmer for a few minutes. Thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, basil, sliced chiles, and a little soy sauce were added while it simmered.
You really can't go wrong with the combination of coconut milk, lime, and chiles. The tofu and eggplant acquired that mix of flavors and the mushrooms and peanuts added dimension. The curry just got better as the leftovers sat in the refrigerator overnight, and it was even more delicious for lunch the next day.


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Four-year-old Gavyn Boscio loves to cook and asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. But when his big sister went to buy one, she discovered to her disappointment that it comes only in girly pink and purple, with girls — and only girls — on the box and in the commercials.
So the eighth-grader from Garfield, N.J., started an online petition asking Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro to make the toy ovens in gender-neutral colors and feature boys on the package.
By Friday, 13-year-old McKenna Pope's petition had garnered more than 30,000 signatures in a little more than a week.
And celebrity chef Bobby Flay, who owned an Easy-Bake Oven as a boy, is among those weighing in on her side.
In a video McKenna made to accompany her petition on Change.org, Gavyn whips up a batch of cookies and tells his sister he wants a dinosaur and an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. When she asks him why there are no boys in the commercial for Easy-Bake Ovens, he explains: "Because only girls play with it."
"Obviously, the way they're marketing this product is influencing what he thinks and the way that he acts," McKenna said in an interview. She said her little brother would probably be OK playing with a purple-and-pink oven by himself but would be too embarrassed to use it in front of his friends.
A spokesman for Hasbro did not return calls for comment.
In a letter McKenna received on Monday, a Hasbro representative told her the company has featured boys on the packaging over the years and said a brother and sister were finalists for the Easy-Bake "Baker of the Year" award in 2009. Hasbro also pointed to Flay as an example of a chef who traced his career to an early experience with the Easy-Bake.
McKenna found the response disappointing.
"All they really told me is that boys play with their products. I already know boys do play with your products, so why are you only marketing them to girls?" she said. "I don't want them to make a boys' Easy-Bake Oven and girls' Easy-Bake Oven. I want them to make an Easy-Bake Oven for kids."
The debate over whether toy companies are reinforcing gender stereotypes — pinks and princesses for girls, guns and gross things for boys — seems to flare every year, particularly at Christmas, and has involved such things as Legos, toy microscopes and Barbie dolls. Now, it has extended to another one of the most beloved baby boomer toys, introduced in the 1960s.
Flay, 47, said he asked for an Easy-Bake for Christmas when he was about 5. He remembers it as a "putrid green" and recalls baking cakes with his mother from mixes. (The Easy-Bake Oven back then used a light bulb as a heating element; now it operates more like a real oven.) At the time, he said, the stereotype was that only women cooked, but a lot has changed since then.
"I cannot tell you how many young boys are my fans. And they want to grow up, and they want to cook," the Food Network star said.
Jim Silver, a toy expert and editor in chief of Timetoplaymag.com, played with an Easy-Bake himself as a kid and said boys still play with it, just as girls play with Hot Wheels cars. He said Hasbro is simply marketing to the audience most likely to buy the oven and there's nothing wrong with that.
About seven years ago, Hasbro had a cooking product aimed at boys, the Queasy Bake Cookerator, which included recipes for gross-sounding treats such as Dip n' Drool Dog Bones and Mud n' Crud Cake. "Sales failed miserably," Silver said.
Flay said he is not surprised it failed because Hasbro was trying to appeal to boys in a stereotypical way. Instead, he urged the toymaker to think about widening the market for the Easy-Bake.
"Why not actually create something that everybody knows the name, but also it comes in different colors so that boys, girls, doesn't matter, they can pick what color they want and it will make them a little more comfortable to buy it?" he said.
In the meantime, he said, Gavyn's family should buy him an Easy-Bake Oven anyway.
"Absolutely. If that's what he wants, why not get it for him? I mean, who cares what color it is?" he said.
Follow Michelle R. Smith on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MRSmithAP


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March 31st, 2012
4 big myths of Book of Revelation
By John Blake, CNN
(CNN) - The anti-Christ. The Battle of Armageddon. The dreaded Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
You don't have to be a student of religion to recognize references from the Book of Revelation. The last book in the Bible has fascinated readers for centuries. People who don't even follow religion are nonetheless familiar with figures and images from Revelation.
And why not? No other New Testament book reads like Revelation. The book virtually drips with blood and reeks of sulfur. At the center of this final battle between good and evil is an action-hero-like Jesus, who is in no mood to turn the other cheek.
Elaine Pagels, one of the world's leading biblical scholars, first read Revelation as a teenager. She read it again in writing her latest book, "Revelations: Visions, Prophecy & Politics in the Book of Revelation."
Pagels' book is built around a simple question: What does Revelation mean? Her answers may disturb people who see the book as a prophecy about the end of the world.
But people have clashed over the meaning of Revelation ever since it was virtually forced into the New Testament canon over the protests of some early church leaders, Pagels says.
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"There were always debates about it," she says. "Some people said a heretic wrote it. Some said a disciple. There were always people who loved and championed it."
The debate persists. Pagels adds to it by challenging some of the common assumptions about Revelation.
Here are what she says are four big myths about Revelation::
1. It's about the end of the world
Anyone who has read the popular "Left Behind" novels or listened to pastors preaching about the "rapture" might see Revelation as a blow-by-blow preview of how the world will end.
Pagels, however, says the writer of Revelation was actually describing the way his own world ended.
She says the writer of Revelation may have been called John – the book is sometimes called "Book of the Revelation of Saint John the Divine" but he was not the disciple who accompanied Jesus. He was a devout Jew and mystic exiled on the island of Patmos, off the coast of present-day Greece.
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"He would have been a very simple man in his clothes and dress," Pagels says. "He may have gone from church to church preaching his message. He seems more like a traveling preacher or a prophet."
The author of Revelation had experienced a catastrophe. He wrote his book not long after 60,000 Roman soldiers had stormed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., burned down its great temple and left the city in ruins after putting down an armed Jewish revolt.
For some of the earliest Jewish followers of Jesus, the destruction of Jerusalem was incomprehensible. They had expected Jesus to return "with power" and conquer Rome before inaugurating a new age. But Rome had conquered Jesus' homeland instead.
The author of Revelation was trying to encourage the followers of Jesus at a time when their world seemed doomed. Think of the Winston Churchill radio broadcasts delivered to the British during the darkest days of World War II.
Revelation was an anti-Roman tract and a piece of war propaganda wrapped in one. The message: God would return and destroy the Romans who had destroyed Jerusalem.
"His primary target is Rome," Pagels says of the book's author. "He really is deeply angry and grieved at the Jewish war and what happened to his people."
2. The numerals 666 stand for the devil
The 1976 horror film "The Omen" scared a lot of folks. It may have scared some theologians, too, who began encountering people whose view of Revelation comes from a Hollywood movie.
"The Omen" depicted the birth and rise of the "anti-Christ," the cunning son of Satan who would be known by "the mark of the beast," 666, on his body.
Here's the passage from Revelation that "The Omen" alluded to: "This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six."
Good movies, though, don't always make good theology. Most people think 666 stands for an anti-Christ-like figure that will deceive humanity and trigger a final battle between good and evil. Some people think he's already here.
Pagels, however, says the writer of Revelation didn't really intend 666 as the devil's digits. He was describing another incarnation of evil: The Roman emperor, Nero.
The arrogant and demented Nero was particularly despised by the earliest followers of Jesus, including the writer of Revelation. Nero was said to have burned followers of Jesus alive to illuminate his garden.
But the author of Revelation couldn't safely name Nero, so he used the Jewish numerology system to spell out Nero's imperial name, Pagels says.
Pagels says that John may have had in mind other meanings for the mark of the beast: the imperial stamp Romans used on official documents, tattoos authorizing people to engage in Roman business, or the images of Roman emperors on stamps and coins.
Since Revelation's author writes in "the language of dreams and nightmares," Pagels says it's easy for outsiders to misconstrue the book's original meaning.
Still, they take heart from Revelation's larger message, she writes:
"…Countless people for thousands of years have been able to see their own conflicts, fears, and hopes reflected in his prophecies. And because he speaks from his convictions about divine justice, many readers have found reassurance in his conviction that there is meaning in history – even when he does not say exactly what that meaning is – and that there is hope."
3. The writer of Revelation was a Christian
The author of Revelation hated Rome, but he also scorned another group – a group of people we would call Christians today, Pagels says.
There's a common perception that there was a golden age of Christianity, when most Christians agreed on an uncontaminated version of the faith. Yet there was never one agreed-upon Christianity. There were always clashing visions.
Revelation reflects some of those early clashes in the church, Pagels says.
That idea isn't new territory for Pagels. She won the National Book Award for "The Gnostic Gospels," a 1979 book that examined a cache of newly discovered "secret" gospels of Jesus. The book, along with other work from Pagels, argues that there were other accounts of Jesus' life that were suppressed by early church leaders because it didn't fit with their agenda.
The author of Revelation was like an activist crusading for traditional values. In his case, he was a devout Jew who saw Jesus as the messiah. But he didn't like the message that the apostle Paul and other followers of Jesus were preaching.
This new message insisted that gentiles could become followers of Jesus without adopting the requirements of the Torah. It accepted women leaders, and intermarriage with gentiles, Pagels says.
The new message was a lot like what we call Christianity today.
That was too much for the author of Revelation. At one point, he calls a woman leader in an early church community a "Jezebel." He calls one of those gentile-accepting churches a "synagogue of Satan."
John was defending a form of Christianity that would be eclipsed by the Christians he attacked, Pagels says.
"What John of Patmos preached would have looked old-fashioned – and simply wrong to Paul's converts…," she writes.
The author of Revelation was a follower of Jesus, but he wasn't what some people would call a Christian today, Pagels says.
"There's no indication that he read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount or that he read the gospels or Paul's letters," she says. "….He doesn't even say Jesus died for your sins."
4. There is only one Book of Revelation
There's no other book in the Bible quite like Revelation, but there are plenty of books like Revelation that didn't make it into the Bible, Pagels says.
Early church leaders suppressed an "astonishing" range of books that claimed to be revelations from apostles such as Peter and James. Many of these books were read and treasured by Christians throughout the Roman Empire, she says.
There was even another "Secret Revelation of John." In this one, Jesus wasn't a divine warrior, but someone who first appeared to the apostle Paul as a blazing light, then as a child, an old man and, some scholars say, a woman.
So why did the revelation from John of Patmos make it into the Bible, but not the others?
Pagels traces that decision largely to Bishop Athanasius, a pugnacious church leader who championed Revelation about 360 years after the death of Jesus.
Athanasius was so fiery that during his 46 years as bishop he was deposed and exiled five times. He was primarily responsible for shaping the New Testament while excluding books he labeled as hearsay, Pagels says.
Many church leaders opposed including Revelation in the New Testament. Athanasius's predecessor said the book was "unintelligible, irrational and false."
Athanasius, though, saw Revelation as a useful political tool. He transformed it into an attack ad against Christians who questioned him.
Rome was no longer the enemy; those who questioned church authority were the anti-Christs in Athanasius's reading of Revelation, Pagels says.
"Athanasius interprets Revelation's cosmic war as a vivid picture of his own crusade against heretics and reads John's visions as a sharp warning to Christian dissidents," she writes. "God is about to divide the saved from the damned – which now means dividing the 'orthodox' from 'heretics.' ''
Centuries later, Revelation still divides people. Pagels calls it the strangest and most controversial book in the Bible.
Even after writing a book about it, Pagels has hardly mastered its meaning.
"The book is the hardest one in the Bible to understand," Pagels says. "I don't think anyone completely understands it."
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About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.


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Taxes and the Pyrite State
Posted by Dana Pico on 2013/01/13
Jerry Brown: California Will Have Surpluses
After years of red ink, Gov. Jerry Brown said on Thursday that California's $96.7-billion general fund is now poised to end next year with a surplus, thanks to years of deep budget cuts and billions in new taxes approved by voters last year.
"We achieved the position we're in because of tough cuts … and then the people voted for taxes," he said. "We broke the logjam by going to the people."
Schools will be the big winner in the governor's new spending plan, receiving $56.2 billion in state funds, an increase by $2.7 billion over the last year. That funding is set to jump to more than $66 billion by 2016.
The budget also dedicated an additional $350 million to the state's public insurance program, Medi-Cal, to help implement President Obama's healthcare law.
Brown's budget predicts only the second budget surplus in the last decade, with an $851-million surplus projected at the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year — if all his proposals are approved by lawmakers.
Jerry Brown says we will have surpluses. I say we will not.
We'll see who is right.
The boldfaced parts were by Patterico commenter Taney O'Haley, who said that it sounded like wishful thinking to her.
Donald Douglas referenced an article from Investor's Business Daily which pointed out that the overwhelming majority the voters gave to the Democrats puts the restrictions under Proposition 13 at risk, and that there are already at least two proposals in the legislature to weaken it:
Already, state Sen. Mark Leno wants to put a measure on the ballot to lower the two-thirds vote threshold for school district parcel taxes to 55%. State Sen. Lois Wolk introduced a bill that would ask voters to drop the vote threshold to 55% for library parcel taxes and bond measures.
In the Assembly, Tom Ammiano plans to reintroduce a bill seeking to revise the definition of an ownership change that triggers a new business property assessment. Voters' OK isn't needed. Even if the bill stalls, as it has in the past, business owners fear that its goal — squeezing more tax money from commercial property — will surface in other proposals, some with better odds.
The tax increases approved by the voters in November were temporary increases, adding a 0.25% increase to the state sales tax, and creating three new brackets for the most productive Californians, lasting for seven years. For a single Californian earning $500,000 or more, the new 12.3% marginal rate, combined with the new federal top rate of 39.6%, means that 51.9% of his earnings over the thresholds will be seized just in income taxes alone. If his earning power is portable — and for many of California's top producers, it won't be — moving to a state like Texas or Florida, which have no state income taxes, is a completely rational economic decision.
How many will? We can't know yet, but we'll see in two more years, when Governor Brown's projection of a balanced state budget is either realized, or it is not.
Cross posted on THE FIRST STREET JOURNAL.
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Elementary student's homework assignment shows picture of gun
Mother of 6-year-old whose father was killed by gun finds worksheet 'unacceptable'
Shantria Smith didn't know what to think about the homework assignment her 6-year-old son brought home from school Monday night.
The worksheet from Palmview Elementary has pictures and letters for kindergarten students to add to unfinished words.
But one of the pictures is of a realistic-looking semi-automatic handgun.
"The gun was a live picture of a gun, and the other pictures were like cartoon pictures," Smith said. "That's very unacceptable. I mean, you're teaching them to have fun with a gun, bun, etc., instead of teaching them the seriousness of the gun."
When school ends, Smith's son goes to aftercare at the Children in the Spirit Preparatory School.
A teacher there saw the worksheet when the boy pulled out his homework.
"My immediate thought was total shock," said Dalia Tepper.
Tepper said she grabbed the worksheet before he started his homework.
Smith said the topic of guns really hits home.
"My thoughts were, first of all, my son's father was killed by a gun and that could have traumatized him or any other kids who have witnessed some drama or violence pertaining to a gun," Smith said.
Tracy Clark, spokeswoman for Broward County Public Schools, issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
"The district and the school's administration agree that the illustration on the homework assignment was inappropriate. The school's administrators are taking steps to ensure that teachers create, utilize and provide assignments that are appropriate. This is an isolated case. Although the teacher's actions were well intended to meet the instructional objectives, the activity presented was inappropriate for students and not part of the approved curriculum. We thank the parent and community for bringing this to our attention."


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A week after school massacre, new details emerge
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — As the nation paused to mark a week since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, new details emerged Friday about the gunman, Adam Lanza, who acquaintances said was able to take apart and reassemble a computer in a matter of minutes but rarely spoke to anyone.
In high school, Lanza used to slither through the hallways, awkwardly pressing himself against the wall while wearing the same green shirt and khaki pants every day. He hardly ever talked to classmates and once gave a presentation entirely by computer, never uttering a single word.
"As long as I knew him, he never really spoke," said Daniel Frost, who took a computer class with Lanza and remembered his skill with electronics.
Lanza seemed to spend most of his time in his own large space in the basement of the home he shared with his mother — the same basement where she kept a collection of guns, said Russell Ford, a friend of Nancy Lanza's who had done chimney and pipe work on the house.
A week ago, Lanza fatally shot his mother before blasting his way into the school, killing 20 children and six teachers with a military style rifle. As police approached, he used a handgun to commit suicide.
Multiple funerals and visitations were held Friday as the community and the nation continued to mourn the lives lost at Sandy Hook. At the hour of the attack, 9:30 a.m., a bell tolled 26 times, once for each victim killed at the school.
Nancy Lanza was often seen around town and regularly chatted up friends and acquaintances at a local restaurant, but her 20-year-old son was a mysterious figure who was seldom spotted in this community of rolling hills and clapboard colonial homes, according to Ford and other townspeople.
The basement of the Lanza home was fully carpeted and had artwork, including a picture of a horse, on the walls. There was a computer, a flat-screen television, couches and an elaborate setup for video games. Nancy Lanza kept her guns in what appeared to be a secure case in another part of the basement, Ford said.
"She was from gun culture. Live free or die. That was truly her upbringing," said Ford, who often met the New Hampshire native and other friends at a regular Tuesday gathering at My Place, a local restaurant.
Ford did not know if Lanza brought her son shooting.
During the past year and a half, Ford said, Nancy Lanza had told him that she planned to move out West and enroll Adam in a "school or a center." The plan started unfolding after Adam turned 18.
"He wouldn't be dwelling with her," said Ford, who remembered that Adam Lanza never spoke to him or even made eye contact.
"She knew she needed to be near him," he added. "She was trying to do what was positive for him."
Ford said Nancy Lanza didn't elaborate on what type of services she wanted her son to receive. He hadn't seen her in about a month and a half, and said she made fewer appearances at the restaurant in recent months.
Mark Tambascio, owner of My Place, said Nancy Lanza described the same plan to him, saying she might move to Washington State.
Back in high school, Frost recalled, Lanza once made a class presentation about how to change the folders in Microsoft Windows different colors. He did it without saying a word, just demonstrating the steps on a screen.
Someone in the class brought in a video game called "Counter-Strike," a first-person shooting video game in which players compete against each other as either terrorists or counter-terrorists, Frost said.
Lanza "seemed pretty interested in the game," Frost recalled, and would play it with other students. He remembers the weapons Lanza chose: an M4 military-style assault rifle and a Glock handgun.
During the rampage at the school, Lanza used a military-style assault rifle and carried handguns, authorities said.
A week after the massacre, authorities still have no clear reason why Lanza would lash out at defenseless first-graders and their caretakers.
State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said it is too soon to draw any conclusions. A final report on the investigation could be months away.
Lanza destroyed the hard drive of his computer before the attack, and investigators have been unable to retrieve any information from it, according to a person briefed on the case.
And while they haven't given up, they aren't confident they will be able to repair it, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
A moment of silence was held Friday in remembrance of those killed at the school. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gathered with other officials in rain and wind on the steps of the Edmond Town Hall as the bell rang. Officials didn't make any formal remarks, and similar commemorations took place throughout the country.
Also on Friday, the National Rifle Association spoke out for the first time since the shootings, calling for armed police officers to be stationed at schools to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."
Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the nation's largest gun-rights lobbing group, said at a Washington news conference that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
LaPierre blamed video games, music and videos for exposing children to violence.
The founder of a video game website said he expects tens of thousands of players of online shooter games to participate in a 24-hour cease-fire that started at noon Friday. Antwand Pearman, founder of GamerFitNation, said the cease-fire is meant to show respect for those killed in the Newtown shooting. He said, however, that video games don't cause violence.
At the memorial services, a school psychologist who rushed toward the gunman was remembered as a caring professional, a passionate fan of the Miami Dolphins and a woman who ultimately put the lives of others ahead of her own.
One of Mary Sherlach's friends donned a Dan Marino jersey for his eulogy at her funeral, which drew a standing-room-only crowd to St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church in Trumbull.
The church was adorned with a Christmas tree and several wreaths and bouquets, including one with the teal, white and orange colors of the Dolphins.
Rev. Stephen Gleason said Sherlach's love was Christ-like.
"No one has greater love than to give one's life for his friends," he said. "And she did so in an attempt to save others."
Five other victims from Sandy Hook had services or calling hours scheduled on Friday.
Associated Press writers Matt Apuzzo in Washington and Pat Eaton-Robb in Newtown contributed to this report.


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Williams, Wilhoite make tiny Washburn proud
NEW ORLEANS – What is an Ichabod?
NFL teams search far and wide for talent, so it's no surprise that a Division-II school is represented in the Super Bowl. But by two players? From the same school?
Ravens CB Cary Williams and 49ers LB Michael Wilhoite, both graduates of Washburn University, will face off in Sunday's Super Bowl, and the 7,300-enrollment school – whose mascot is the Ichabod -- from Topeka, Kansas will be able to claim a small chunk of the Lombardi Trophy.
But again, let's get back to what's most important: What is an Ichabod? Questions about Ichabod Crane and the Planters' Mr. Peanut character are the norm for Washburn folks.
"To be honest, I am not even really sure what it is exactly," Wilhoite said. "But it was named for a guy who started the school (Ichabod Washburn) and put all the money into it."
So there's that. Any the team mascot?
"It was a big-muscled guy with a top hat," he said with a smile. "Like a bodybuilder with a weird top hat."
But this is not just a feel-good story about a couple of random dudes from a dot-on-an-atlas school. They both will be key factors in Sunday's game, as they have been much of the season. Wilhoite is a 49ers special-teams leader, and Williams has stepped up as one of the Ravens' most improved players in the secondary.
In the wake of CB Lardarius Webb's season-ending injury in Week Six, Williams was called on to take the role of the Ravens' shutdown corner. He didn't look up to the challenge earlier in Week Three, when Patriots QB Tom Brady repeatedly picked on Williams and ignored Webb on the other side of the field. Williams appeared to be inspired by the game, though, and ran off a streak with interceptions in four of the next five games.
"I struggled in that (Patriots) game, but it made me a better player," Williams said. "I got better because of that experience."
And Williams also earned a sweet dose of revenge: An interception of Brady in the AFC title game to help seal a ticket to New Orleans.
"Once I saw the ball in the air, I knew I had an opportunity to catch that and make a play for my teammates," Williams said. "The most emotional part was me and Ray Lewis talking in the endzone. He was talking about how happy he was for me. He said, 'We're going to the ship now,' so I said, 'I'm ready. Let's go.'"
Williams is highly confident in his abilities, and it's shown in the fact that he turned down a three-year, $15 million extension in the offseason despite the fact he had zero interceptions in 39 career games. Earlier in his football life, that confidence wasn't always translated properly. Williams started his college career at Fordham but was kicked off the team for what the coaches deemed to be a poor attitude.
"It was me saying some crazy things to coaches after I felt like I should have been playing," Williams said. "They weren't playing me. It was a learning experience. It was a humbling experience at Fordham when I had to control that beast and understand that there is a political aspect to the game as well.
"There are some things I had to control as a person as well. I had a great experience at Fordham. They were some of the best years of my life with some of the greatest guys."
Williams' options were limited – to one school, that is. He got medium-cool attention from Washburn, a step down from I-AA Fordham, and decided he had to make the cross-country trip from New York to Kansas. For a kid who grew up all over south Florida, especially in crime-replete Liberty City, and who falsified his home address on school paperwork so he could play for a better football team, going to wayward Topeka wasn't all that wacky in comparison.
"Man, no one else was interested in me," Williams said. "I actually had a scholarship on the table at Hofstra University, and they just said they couldn't do it because they heard some (bad) things about me at Fordham. That's what it was.
"I ended up at Washburn and it was one of the great times of my life there. It taught me to continue to work hard, to continue to put my head down and to continue to believe in my faith so that everything would work out for the greater good."
At Washburn in 2006, he met Wilhoite, and they spent the next two years together as Ichabods. Williams was a starter from Jump Street, but Wilhoite took a year to get into the regular rotation. The sophomore joined the senior Williams in the starting lineup, playing both linebacker and strong safety on the same side of the defense. Wilhoite has rocked up to a stout 240 pounds, mostly because of his love for the gym, and he hasn't lost that safety speed.
But Wilhoite's path to the NFL was a circuitous one, starting with an extended, six-year stay at Washburn, followed by a stint in the UFL with the Omaha Nighthawks in 2011. When the UFL season ended around Halloween, Wilhoite found himself unemployed and in need of money. He took a job making about $9 an hour selling sneakers at a Finish Line store in Topeka and also as an intern at WIBW radio, following up on his mass media major at Washburn.
His agent was being real with him the whole time: the phones were not ringing from the NFL. So Wilhoite would do what he could, waking up at 5 a.m. to stay in shape, reporting to the radio station for a few hours a day and then selling shoes for the rest of the day. It was tiring, and not very lucrative, and he stayed with his mother for a while to save on rent.
"I knew I would not make a lot of money, but I could make a little money to get gas, feed myself," Wilhoite said. "Just waiting for a call."
One day it came: Patrick Willis got hurt late last season, and the team's LB depth was light. The 49ers also needed some special-teams help, so they signed Wilhoite to the practice squad. Although he never got into a game last season, he re-signed with the club and had a good offseason, even sprinkling in a little fullback duty. For a guy who was working three jobs in Topeka if you throw in a little personal training he did on the side, the additional assignment with the Niners was peanuts.
Wilhoite impressed but did not make the final roster out of training camp. He signed to the practice squad and was added to the active roster in Week 13. He has been active in every game since, including two in the postseason, and he has recorded at least one special-teams tackle in each one. Head coach Jim Harbaugh pointed out Wilhoite as an example of one of the many 49ers who has grown over the past few years.
"Michael Wilhoite is a guy that was that kind of player for us last year and the first part of this year, and now he's out there playing, and playing in the Super Bowl this week," Harbaugh said. "I just can't tell you how exciting and how wonderful it is to see these players grow."
Williams and Wilhoite both have grown since their Washburn days. Williams needed to mature. Wilhoite had less natural talent and needed to incubate as a player. They have kept tabs on each others' careers and have stayed in touch. A dinner was planned this week in New Orleans, and they have done plenty of texting – talking a little smack about who will win Sunday but also being supportive.
"We were really close in college," Wilhoite said. "Just to have the opportunity to connect and re-up on our friendship down here with him is amazing."
The school has never had a player in the Super Bowl. Sunday they'll have two. And they almost had a third: WR Joe Hastings was on the 49ers' practice squad late last season and is good friends with both Williams and Wilhoite. Hastings was out of the NFL this season but hopes to get back into the league in 2013, and as Wilhoite's best friend, he'll be pulling for him – and for Williams, and Washburn – in the stands of the Superdome.
"We're here for each other. I keep him confident," Wilhoite said of Hastings. "Like I told him, 'I've been in the position he's in now.' You're at home, you don't have a team calling, you're trying to figure out what's going on, days are going by real long. Hopefully, he'll get a call soon."
Until then, the hopes of Topeka will fall on the shoulders of Williams and Wilhoite on Sunday. There will be a lot of people watching in Kansas anxious to find out who will be the first Ichabod to hoist Lombardi.
"I've been getting texts all week," Wilhoite said. "Everyone is going to be watching, and they're somehow going to be pulling for both me and Cary. Basically, everyone there wins – except the guy who loses."
Still, Williams sees this season as something of a fantasy ride.
"It's a great opportunity coming from a small Division-II school," he said. "It's unbelievable. It's just a testament to all our hard work, dedication and love for the game."
Maybe that's what an Ichabod really is.


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Does anybody get tired of seeing the wonderful Tim Holtz demonstrate his techniques? I don't think anybody does!
Today we are talking about Tim Holtz's line of Distress Inks from Ranger. They have so many uses and come in 24 awesome colors. All 24 colors of ink pads and ink pad refills are available in the store. Click here to see all of Tim Holtz's line! Also available are matching embossing powders and crackle paints! The creative possiblities are endless! Watch this great **VIDEO** showcasing the many uses of Distress Inks and you will be amazed!
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Here's another fabulous tip from Wendy Vecchi at Ranger. You can make your own glimmer mist using Distress Inks! In a Mini Mister, add one dropper full of the Distress Ink Refill color of your choice (or experiment with a few). Add some of the Ranger Perfect Pearls powder. Then top it off with water (all the way to the "R" on the mini mister bottle). Now you have your own specially created glimmer mist! This works with Distress Inks because they react with water, not repel water!
**Blog Candy Alert** Comment on this blog about the video above or your favorite use of Tim Holtz Distress Inks and you will be entered to win a lot of 4 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads! The random drawing will be done Monday night! GOOD LUCK!
****OOPS, I forgot to post the winner!!! Sorry for the suspense! Hope I didn't "distress" anyone....ha ha ha! Congratulations to "monica"! She has won 4 of the Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads of her choice! Monica, please email us with your shipping address and color choices and we will get that right out to you. Congratulations and keep on stamping! ~Terra
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You've stolen $50 million in diamonds. What now?
- Armed bandits stole diamonds from jet at Brussels Airport on Monday
- The haul was estimated at %2450 million
- Thieves likely must settle for a fraction of the value
So what do you do with $50 million in stolen diamonds?
The manhunt across Europe continued Wednesday for a band of thieves who made off with an estimated $50 million worth of diamonds lifted from the cargo hold of a Swiss jetliner on a Brussels runway.
And the gaudy booty, which experts said could probably fit in a shoebox, shouldn't be too hard to sell — if the price is right.
"It is impossible to say what the thieves will do," said Caroline De Wolf, spokeswoman for the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the heist's victim. "In any case, rough or polished, (both types were taken) it is virtually impossible to trace the stolen diamonds."
Harry Levy, president of London Diamond Bourse, said the crooks may already have sold the diamonds, but probably will get only 20% to 30% of their true value.
"The quicker they move the diamonds into the normal distribution system, the safer the crooks are," Levy said.
If they are uncut diamonds, the thieves will likely send them to cutting centers in India, Israel, South Africa and the USA.
"It is impossible to trace a rough diamond. They would just be fitted into the supply chain with no problem," Levy said. "With $200 million going out every day, to put $50 million of rough diamonds into the system is not that complicated."
For the polished diamonds it's a bit more complex, he said.
At some stage, the police will have a list of all of the stolen diamonds — describing the weight, physical measurements, shape, color code, clarity code and other measurable factors.
If there are any larger stones, 5 carats and upward, the criminals will likely re-polish them to disguise them by changing the weight and size slightly.
"There are so many stones in the system you really have to be looking out for a stolen stone," Levy said. "A large outlet will have to devote at least one member to look at every stone that comes in — and hundreds of stones are coming in every day."
After they disguise the larger stones, the bandits might smuggle the goods to the Far East, especially Hong Kong and Dubai, where they could easily put them into the chain, he said.
"The chances of those stones of being recovered are slim, and if they are it will be one here or one there," Levy said. "Only a few will be recovered."
Authorities in Belgium have released some details of the theft.
A spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor's office, Anja Bijnens, said the armed and masked men used two vehicles in their daring raid under cover of darkness late Monday and within minutes made their way to the plane on the tarmac at Brussels Airport, took the cache of stones and drove off into the night.
Police found a burned-out vehicle close to the airport later Monday night but said they were still looking for clues.
An airport spokesman said the robbers made a hole in the perimeter fence, and drove right up to the Swiss passenger plane that was ready to leave. The robbers got out of the car, flashed their weapons and took the loot from the hold, airport spokesman Jan Van Der Crujsse said.
Without firing a shot they drove off through the same hole in the fence, completing the spectacular theft within minutes, he said.
Van Der Crujsse could not explain how the area could be so vulnerable to theft. "We abide by the most stringent rules," he said.
The Swiss flight, operated by Helvetic Airways, was canceled after the robbery. Swiss, an affiliate of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, declined to comment on the heist, citing the ongoing judicial investigation.
The insurance for air transport — handled sometimes by airlines themselves or external insurance companies — is usually relatively cheap because it's considered to be the safest way of transporting small, high-value items, logistics experts say.
Contributing: Associated Press


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Some of my favorite contemporary works on view at LACMA aren't inside BCAM; they're part of the Latin American art galleries, which includes some stunning work of the last fifty years from Jésus Rafael Soto, Hélio Oiticia, Cildo Meireles, and Francis Alÿs.
My personal favorite in the gallery is Message (Mensaje), from 1967, by Mathias Goeritz, who was German-born, but spent the last forty years of his life in Mexico. The work—just a piece of gold, punched metal—rewards patience.
At first I thought it looked almost like a textile; seeing it in print (or onscreen) heightens that feeling. But the punches in the steel give it a kind of topography. Then I started wondering about how those holes were punched: rigid horizontal lines across the panel, the density of the lines letting up in places—it's composed. Yet there is also a kind of randomness created by how the metal was punched: in some places it has been completely punched through, creating tiny black voids all over. If you get up close enough you can see the burgundy-colored wood peeking through.
The longer I stare, the more colorful Message becomes. It's really not "just gold"; in addition to the black pockmarks, the leafing has taken on a bruiselike shade of greenish purple, revealing itself in the few areas of the surface that haven't been disturbed by the punches. I start to notice cracks in the gilding, like spider cracks in damaged sidewalks. I wonder how much of Message is a result of its age. Was it more uniformly gold when Goeritz first created it? Was it even more luminous than it is now? What qualities has it taken on in the last forty-one years? What qualities will take on in the next?


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Holocaust survivors, veterans gather at DC museum
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elderly survivors of the Holocaust and the veterans who helped liberate them gathered for what could be their last big reunion Monday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
One thousand survivors and World War II vets joined with former President Bill Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust activist Elie Wiesel to mark the museum's 20th anniversary. Organizers chose not to wait for the 25th milestone because many survivors and vets may not be alive in another five or 10 years.
"We felt it was important, while that generation is still with us in fairly substantial numbers, to bring them together," said Museum Director Sara Bloomfield.
Washington has many monuments and memorials that offer something special for visitors from around the world, "but the Holocaust memorial will be our conscience," Clinton said.
Since the museum opened 20 years ago, the world has made huge scientific discoveries, including the sequencing of the human genome, which proved humans are 99.5 percent genetically the same, Clinton said.
"Every non age-related difference ... is contained in one half of 1 percent of our genetic makeup, but every one of us spends too much time on that half a percent," Clinton said. "That makes us vulnerable to the fever, the sickness that the Nazis gave to the Germans. That sickness is very alive across the world today."
The occasion marked a reunion of sorts for Clinton and Wiesel as well: Both were on hand to dedicate the museum at its opening in 1993. On Sunday night, the museum presented its highest honor to World War II veterans who helped end the Holocaust. Susan Eisenhower accepted the award on behalf of her grandfather, U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, and all veterans of the era.
The museum also launched a campaign to raise $540 million by 2018 to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and to combat anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and contemporary genocide. It has already secured gifts totaling $258.7 million. The campaign aims to double the size of the museum's endowment by its 25th anniversary. Also, a $15 million gift from Holocaust survivors David and Fela Shapell will help build a new collections and conservation center.
Bloomfield said organizers wanted to show Holocaust survivors, veterans and rescuers that the effort will continue to honor the memory of 6 million murdered Jews, in part by working to prevent genocide in the future.
Vera Greenwood, who was born in Berlin and remembers as a girl seeing Hitler with Nazis marching in the street, said her father knew they had to leave when he was forced out of his job as a lawyer. She remembers Nazi officers coming to their house and taking her father's books.
"Though I was very young, I knew something was very wrong," said Greenwood, now 84. "I still feel we were very lucky to survive."
Her family moved to Palestine with a British visa and ended up fighting for Israel's independence. Greenwood lived in Israel for 30 years before immigrating to the U.S. and completing a doctorate at Arizona State University.
She and her husband, Fred, who survived the Holocaust in Holland as a child by being hidden and passed from house to house, wanted to be part of the last large reunion of survivors.
"In 10 more years, most of us will be gone," Greenwood said.
The museum continues collecting objects, photographs and other evidence of the Holocaust from survivors, veterans and archives located as far away as China and Argentina. Curators expect the collection to double in size over the next decade.
This week, the museum is opening a special, long-term exhibit titled "Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration and Complicity During the Holocaust." It includes interviews with perpetrators that have never been shown before, as well as details of mass killings in the former Soviet Union that were only uncovered in more recent years.
Curator Susan Bachrach said the exhibit and its research challenge the idea that the Holocaust was primarily about Hitler and other Nazi leaders. Surveys at the museum show that's what most visitors believe.
"That's very comforting to people, because it puts distance between the visitors and who was involved," Bachrach said.
So, the museum set out to look at ordinary people who looked on and were complicit in the killing and persecution of millions of Jews through greed, a desire for career advancement, peer pressure or other factors. It examines influences "beyond hatred and anti-Semitism," Bachrach said.
Focusing only on fanatical Nazis would be a serious misunderstanding of the Holocaust, Bloomfield added.
"The Holocaust wouldn't have been possible, first of all, without enormous indifference throughout Germany and German-occupied Europe, but also thousands of people who were, say, just doing their jobs," she said, such as a tax official who collected special taxes levied against Jews.
In an opening film, some survivors recall being turned over to Nazi authorities in front of witnesses who did nothing. "The whole town was assembled ... looking at the Jews leaving," one survivor recalls.
Steven Fenves was a boy at the time. He recalled how in 1944, the government of Hungary, allied with Nazi Germany, forced his family out of its apartment. The family was deported to Auschwitz, where Fenves' mother was gassed.
"One of the nastiest memories I have is going on that journey and people were lined up, up the stairs, up to the door of the apartment, waiting to ransack whatever we left behind, cursing at us, yelling at us, spitting at us as we left," he said in an interview with the museum.
The museum located images of bystanders looking on as Jews were detained, humiliated and taken away.
Non-Jews were also punished for violating German policies against the mixing of ethnic groups. For the first time, the museum is showing striking, rare footage of a ritualistic shaming of a Polish girl and a German boy for having a relationship. They are marched through the streets of a town in Poland, where the film was located in an attic. Dozens of people look on as Nazi officers cut the hair of the two teenagers. They are forced to look at their nearly bald heads in a mirror before their hair is burned.
The federally funded museum's theme for its 20th anniversary is "Never Again: What You Do Matters." The museum devotes part of its work and research to preventing future genocides. A study released by the museum last month found that the longer the current conflict in Syria continues, the greater the danger that mass sectarian violence results in genocide.
Much more is still being learned about the Holocaust, as well, Bloomfield said. The museum is compiling an encyclopedia of all incarceration sites throughout Europe. When the project began, scholars expected to list 10,000 such sites. Now the number stands at 42,000.
Since opening, the museum has had more than 35 million visitors.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org
Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat


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WR has 'heard' of Viagra use to gain edge on field
CHICAGO - The idea that NFL players might use Viagra to gain an edge on the field left Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs practically in tears - from laughing.
He wasn't the only one.
Players cracked jokes about it Thursday, a day after Bears star receiver Brandon Marshall said he had heard that some players were using Viagra and hoping it would give them an advantage during games. Punch lines aside, experts say it's unlikely the erectile-dysfunction drug would help.
"What would that do? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Minnesota Vikings long snapper Cullen Loeffler said.
Bears defensive back D.J. Moore wondered if Marshall was kidding and said: "I've never heard of that."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Viagra is not a banned substance and declined further comment.
Marshall started it all Wednesday when asked about a growing number of suspensions tied to amphetamines, including the ADHD drug Adderall. He said he didn't know much about Adderall, but suggested Viagra could be viewed by players as a way to boost their energy.
"I know guys, it's such a competitive league, and guys try anything just to get that edge," he said. "I've heard of guys using Viagra, seriously, because the blood, it's supposed to thin. . I don't know. Some crazy stuff. It's kind of scary with some of these chemicals that are in some of these things, so you have to be careful."
But using Viagra for more touchdowns and tackles?
"I didn't even know people could do that," New York Giants tight end Martellus Bennett said. And his teammate Justin Tuck added: "I can't imagine why people would take steroids, so I have no comment on Viagra. Besides, my wife would be very upset with me."
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday, a 15-year NFL veteran, said some of his teammates were talking about Marshall's Viagra remarks but he had never heard of such a thing himself.
"I don't understand what good it would do," he said.
Dr. Olivier Rabin, science director at the World Anti-Doping Agency in Montreal, said it is unlikely Viagra does anything to improve football performance in NFL players. He also said there is no evidence the drug might somehow mask the use of steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
Rabin noted that research in high altitudes found the drug helped improve oxygen flow in climbers with impaired lung function. That's because Viagra can dilate blood vessels, and vessels in the lung constrict in high altitudes.
Research involving cyclists at high altitudes found similar benefits, but Rabin said studies have shown the drug has no effect on athletic performance at sea level.
University of Miami researcher Kevin Jacobs has studied Viagra in simulated high-altitude environments and "didn't find much benefit in young, healthy, active individuals."
"No one has really tested it in football players doing exercise. Whatever benefit they think they're getting is probably more psychological than anything," said Jacobs, an associate professor in the kinesiology and sport sciences department.
Marshall said he doesn't take medication "of any sort" and noted that the NFL's drug policy is strict.
"Any time you take anything over the counter, if you don't approve it with your training room, you can get popped," he said. "Some of it's fair, but some of it kind of puts you in a tough spot as a professional athlete. Because the only thing you'll see is getting busted for PEDs, but it could be something over the counter for a little sickness. You just have to be on top of your Ps and Qs.